Tim Burns quits Pa. Senate race

Colby ItkowitzCall Washington Bureau

Tim Burns, once considered among the top tier in the crowded Republican Senate primary, has dropped out of the race after not receiving the coveted endorsement from the state party at its winter meeting last weekend.

“Governor Corbett made a choice in this primary, and the State Committee has confirmed his choice," Burns said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "I know the Governor wants what is best for Pennsylvania and this country. And he deserves our full support in that effort. I look forward to working with him in the future to advance our party and our country.”

Burns came in third among Republican committee people. With all votes counted, Welch won 182 votes; Smith, 51; Burns, 47; Rohrer, 33 and Scaringi, six. Welch needed 169 votes to win the endorsement.

Burns' departure leaves Welch and Tom Smith at the front of the pack of those vying to take on incumbent Democrat Bob Casey this fall. Welch, an entrepreneur from Chester County, lent his campaign $1 million. Smith, a former coal company executive from Armstrong County, gave his $5 million and has already aired television ads.

Burns would have had serious difficulty competing against the Republican party's anointed candidate and/or the man willing to outspend, by millions, his competitors. Burns had tried to discredit Welch for his short stint as a Democrat, wherein he supported Joe Sestak for Congress in 2006 and Barack Obama in the 2008 primary, but it wasn't enough to stop Welch from securing the endorsement.

Now it's Smith's turn to take up that mantle. Minutes after Burns announced his decision not to run for the Senate, Smith was out with a press release calling Welch a "liberal."

In addition to Welch and Smith, those also remaining in the race are: former state Rep. Sam Rohrer, attorney and former Santorum staffer Marc Scaringi, veterans' advocate David Christain, and pharmacist John Kensinger.